Lingo topic · 46 terms
Crypto basics
Coins, tokens and the ideas underneath them.
A
B
- Basel Committee on Banking SupervisionThe international body that writes the global rulebook for how much capital banks must hold, including against crypto.
- BitcoinThe first cryptocurrency: digital money with a fixed cap of 21 million coins, run by a network that no single company controls.
- Bitcoin CashA cryptocurrency that split from Bitcoin in a 2017 hard fork to allow bigger blocks and cheaper payments.
- BNBThe native coin of the BNB Chain blockchain, created by the Binance exchange and once called Binance Coin.
- BurnPermanently destroying coins or tokens by sending them to an address nobody can ever spend from.
C
- CardanoA proof-of-stake blockchain founded by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson, with ADA as its coin.
- Central Bank Digital CurrencyA digital form of a country's money issued directly by its central bank, as opposed to private cryptocurrencies.
- Charles HoskinsonAn Ethereum co-founder who went on to found Cardano and its development company.
- Circulating SupplyHow many coins of a cryptocurrency exist and are actually available to trade right now.
- CoinA cryptocurrency that is the native money of its own blockchain, like bitcoin on Bitcoin or ether on Ethereum.
- CryptoDigital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ether that run on blockchains instead of being issued by a central bank.
D
- Dead CoinA cryptocurrency that has been abandoned: no development, almost no trading, and a price near zero.
- DecentralizationSpreading control across many independent participants so no single person, company or government is in charge.
- Digital CurrencyAny money that exists only in electronic form, from bank balances and cryptocurrencies to central bank digital currencies.
- DogecoinA cryptocurrency started in 2013 as a joke based on the Shiba Inu 'doge' meme, which became one of the best-known coins.
E
F
G
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I
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M
N
P
- PolkadotA blockchain network designed to link many specialised blockchains so they can share security and pass messages.
- PreminingCreating a batch of coins for the founders or insiders before a cryptocurrency is launched to the public.
- PresaleAn early round of selling a new crypto token, usually at a discount to select buyers before the public launch.
R
S
- SatoshiThe smallest unit of bitcoin: one hundred-millionth of a coin (0.00000001 BTC).
- Satoshi NakamotoThe pseudonymous person or group who created Bitcoin, published its whitepaper in 2008, then disappeared.
- Shiba InuA meme token launched in 2020, styled as a 'Dogecoin killer', with a supply in the hundreds of trillions.
- Soft CapThe minimum amount a crypto project aims to raise in a token sale; if it falls short, the sale may be cancelled and money returned.
- SolanaA high-speed, low-fee blockchain for apps and tokens, with SOL as its coin.
- StablecoinA cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value, usually one US dollar, by being backed by reserves or managed by code.
T
- TokenA crypto asset created on top of an existing blockchain by a smart contract, rather than being the chain's own coin.
- Total SupplyHow many coins of a cryptocurrency exist right now, including ones that are locked up and not yet trading.
- Transaction FeeThe fee you pay a blockchain network to process your transaction, which goes to the miners or validators who include it.
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